When controlling the operation of a wind turbine, a number of parameters relating to the wind turbine are normally measured. Some of these parameters may relate to the health of one or more components of the wind turbine, such as a gear system, part of a gear system, a bearing, a generator, a drive shaft, etc. These parameters may include a temperature of the component or measured in the vicinity of the component, load, stress or strain of a component, etc. Measuring and analysing such parameters allows an operator to detect when a component reaches a state where it is expected to break down. When this happens, a service inspection must be scheduled in order to repair or replace the component. This results in undesired service events which are additional to the normal service schedule. Furthermore, in the case that the component breaks down before the service inspection can take place, the wind turbine must be stopped for a period of time. This has the consequence that the power production of the wind turbine is decreased.
“Towards Quantification of Condition Monitoring Benefit for Wind Turbine Generators”, David McMillan et al., European Wind Energy Conference 2007, discloses a maintenance strategy for wind farms using different probabilistic models in order to improve operational efficiency of the wind farms. The condition of one or more turbine components, including the gear box and the generator, is monitored.
“Requirements for Condition Based Operation and Maintenance in Offshore Wind Farms”, Jochen Giebhardt et al., European Wind Energy Conference 2007, describes fault detection for offshore wind turbines using online Condition Monitoring Systems.